Just Another Lost Boy
by 1xlottiex1
Summary: Damon with all his secrets, remembers when his brother was stolen from him, and consoles a distrought Elena who may have secrets of her own. Alternative universe.


His arms wrapped around Elena's fragile shoulders and drew the girl to him, stroking her hair as she buried her head in the crevice of Damon's neck. Damon could feel the girls warm tears fall against his bare skin. He had no words, no condolences and for the umpteenth time in the last three months he felt helpless; they couldn't find Stefan.

The sheriff just couldn't track them, every time she got a slight idea of there wareabouts, we would all go to look in this town or that town and would always just have missed them, just lost him again. It hurt Elena every time this happened, she would go home and cry, whilst writing in her diary never noticing the figure sitting outside her window, oh how he wanted to make her not hurt anymore just take all of her grief and pain away, he could do that now with Stefan gone, it would be easy to make her forget it all, but no he could not betray her trust like that, not her anyway. So he has to grit his teeth and watch. Sometimes he wasn't the only one watching, every now and then he would be greeted with an unbeknownst presence, a feeling that he was being watched, and it chilled him to the very core. He kept his face always refrained though, and it was during these moments when a silent truce would be formed. A truce just to watch, wait from a distance. Wait for her.

Damon knows that if Elena doesn't move on it will break her, and as he held her shaking form, moving to sit down on the queen sized blue satin covered bed, he knew if he didn't do something, anything they would all lose her, and Damon couldn't lose Elena not again, no not his Elena. Perhaps if he hadn't done what he did then maybe…? No Devon fretted to himself, his own thoughts jumbled around his mind, and yet… if he hadn't flirted with the wrong girl then Stefan would be here, with them.

* * *

He remembered the day Stefan was taken; he and his brother fought as always, something about him being too flirty with every girl in sight, the details seeming all too insignificant. Personally Damon believed, at the time, it was not a problem but as always he went too far. As a normal human male he just couldn't resist the chance to rile up his brother, and when a perky young blond sat on the bar stool next to him, he couldn't believe his luck.

"What's your name love?" he tempted.  
"Katherine" she smiled seductively turning her attention towards him.

"Well Katherine, could I offer you a drink?" After that one thing lead to another, and when they stumbled out of the corner bar he recalled falling face first into the chest of whom else, but his irritable brother. The girl, who had been clinging on to him for dear life, lost her balance and fell unceremoniously on the side of the pavement. Stefan went to help her up, as he looked like he was about to say something, a gang of youths walked out from the ally-way across the street.

He remembers telling the cops this when he stumbled into the police station, later that night gasping for air yet none would come, he also remembered the pain of a bloody nose, and several just checked over knife wounds also the tangible smell of blood that hung around him in the air shouting, screaming about his stolen brother.

* * *

The grip tightened around the now calming women in his arms as she shifted to get more comfortable. He looked down at Elena, she can never fully understand what happened than night he thought hastily, no matter how much she wants to, before being overtaken by more dark memories;

"Yo Blaze man, is't at yo, girl?" one of the hooded ones shouted, dark piercing eyes landed on Stefan as the group stopped walking, he knew right then what would happen, he knew but he couldn't move, the air so thick it became even harder to breathe,

"What you doing with my girl, man?" the one in front said venomously, at the sound of his voice the blond cowered and whimpered.

The tall one of the group, in the purple hoodie yelled "he's touchin on your girl brav." Stefan's face was hard and blank almost impassive but growing up with him Damon could tell his brother was as scared as he was. A blood thirsty anger filled voice bellowed across the now narrowing clearing; "you best get your hands of my girl mate, you hear me!" Stefan let the girl fully go, in the fifteen seconds it took for her to, again fall to the ground the gang lost it, finding their excuse for a fight, shouting and yielding previously hidden weapons as they honed in on the pair. Chills shoot through his whole body as he remembers his brother's pain filled cries for help, help that he could not give, the ground moved under his body as the feeling of being dragged somewhere. In his nightmares he recalls trying to call for help, throwing his body around to try and attract attention to his warabouts, a deep voiced snarled "shut it", a blinding pain in his face and then… nothing, absolute blackness.

Then upon waking up in A&E not five hours later with bandaged ribs and external injuries he quickly, checked himself out of A&E, the doctors told him they would have to report the knife crime, how about I save you the trouble he spat before leaving to weave through the streets to the police station.

* * *

Damon snapped out of his remembrance when he realized that Elena, the girl lead in his arms had gone still.

"We will keep looking for my brother precious Elena, and when I bring my brother back to you, when I drag him out of whatever abyss he is in" he whispered, tentativley "don't forget who you turned to, when he was gone" Elena turned to look into his eyes, noticing that the sparkle they used to hold had all but vanished, due to worry or fear, perhaps even both. She hated that about Damon it reminded her all too much of Stefan, and only hurt her more. She hated what they said on the news about Stefan being just another lost boy. She hated many things recently especially that anonymous letter she didn't dare tell anyone about, that letter she had received with only three bold black words; WE ARE WATCHING.


End file.
